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Description
Species Name: Long-nosed Fur Seal
Species Latin Name: Arctocephalus forsteri
Also Known As: Australasian Fur Seal, South Australian Fur Seal, New Zealand Fur Seal, Antipodean Fur Seal, Kekeno (Maori)
Native To: Southern Australia and New Zealand
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Photo Taken At: Melbourne Zoo

Size (length): 1.2-2.5m (3.9 – 8.2 feet)
Weight: 30-180kg (66.1 – 396.8 pounds)
Top Speed: 20kmh (12.4mph)
Lifespan: 12-15 years
Population Size: 200,000
Population Trend: Increasing

Diet: Carnivore, Piscivores, Molluscivore
Lifestyle: Semiaquatic, precocial, predator, island endemic, natatorial, nomadic, terrestial, territorial, congregatory, viviparous
Group Name: Pod, bob, harem, herd, rookery, colony
Female Name: Cow
Male Name: Bull
Baby Name: Pup
Mating Behaviour: Polygyny
Reproductive Season: October – February
Pregnancy Duration: 9 months
Births Per Pregnancy: 1 pup
Independent Age: 9-10 months
Age of Sexual Maturity: 4-5 years

Description:
Like many seal species these animals can be identified by their long bulky bodies supported only by their front and hind flippers, their bodies have evolved for long, speedy swims in the water rather than traversing on land. Long-nosed Fur Seals have pointed noses and long pale whiskers on their face. Their bodies are covered in two layers of fur to keep their bodies warm, the coat is grey-brown along their backs and lighter coloured on their bellies. These seals can be distinguished by other seals by their external ears and their hind flippers that rotate forward. Some of these animals can have along the upper hairs of their body which can give some of them a more silver like appearance. Generally the males will be much larger with the average weight of a male reaching 126kg (277.8 pounds) compared to the average female weight of 30 – 50kg (66.1 – 110.2 pounds)

Diet:
Long-nosed Fur Seals will mainly eat octopus, squid, lantern fish, anchovies, pink cod, hoki, barracuda, flounder, hagfish, lamprey, red cod, school shark, and many other species of fish. It has even been noted that these species will eat various bird species as part of their diet including local species of penguin. The diet for these seals will vary depending on multiple factors including season, sex, breeding, the surrounding colony, oceanography, and climate patterns.

Behaviour:
Communication between Long-nosed Fur Seals will vary depending on the sex of the animal as well as the situation they are in. Males will vocalize through either a bark or whimper, these can vary from being a guttural threat, a more low-intensity threat, a full on threat of action, or more of a submissive call. The female call can growl depending on the situation, they also have a high pitched wail call that travels long distance to attract their pups to them. Both the mother and the pups will call for each other when the mother has returned from a foraging trip, once together the mother will sniff the pup to confirm that the pup is indeed hers. Males will also prominently display their neck out as a means to pronounce their authority as the dominant male, any competing male will gaze upon the display and asses their chances of success before either challenging the dominant male or slinking away.

These seals spend much of their time on the rocky shores between their dives in the sea for food. Outside of breeding season the males will often practice comfort behaviours such as grooming, scratching, and rubbing for a lot of their time. During cold days these animals will rest on the shore as they tuck their flippers underneath their bodies, they will also slightly curl up in an effort to keep warm. During hotter days they will do the opposite as they extend their bodies and flippers to maximize heat loss, they generally become less physically active mid-summer as they seek shelter from the heat in areas of shade, pools of water, or in the sea.

Every year these animals will tend to return to their same preferred breeding sites to mate. These animals will have a polygynous breeding system where a dominant male will defend a territory for his own, a dominant male will have a harem of females between 5 to 8 females. These seals will find a suitable breeding location which is usually a small island, 2 weeks before mating season males will fiercely compete for prime mating territory before the pregnant females arrive. Breeding season starts in late October and will wrap up in early February, the females will generally mate once a year giving birth to a single pup 9 months after pregnancy. The pups are able to start suckling within the hour of birth and will wean from the mother from 9 to 10 months old. They will reach sexual maturity at around 4-5 years of age however, males will not exhibit territorial behaviour until the age of 8 or10 years. Males will generally not compete with other males unless they feel there is a chance of success after they have grown to be the same size as the other dominant older males.

Threats:
This species of seal have been known to be preyed upon by other species of seal including male New Zealand Sea lions or Hooker's Sea Lion (Phocarctos hooker) and possibly Leopard Seals or Sea Leopard (Hydrurga leptonyx). The New Zealand Sea Lions have also been known to target the pups of the Long-nosed Fur Seal. Other natural predators of this species are killer whales and various species of shark.

One of the main threats these seals faced have been at the face of hunting from humans. Before European Settlers settled in Australia and New Zealand the Maori in New Zealand hunted these animals which reduced their range. It was not until the introduction of commercial fishing in the 18th to 19th century that these animals were hunted to near extinction levels. Since then the seals have become a protected species and their numbers are increasing however, there are still many issues these animals face today.

Today the most common cause of death at the hands of humans these animals face are from entanglement and drowning most commonly from green trawl nets and plastic strapping tape. Less than half of the individuals caught within these traps are released successfully from these traps with a good likelihood of survival, it is estimated that 10,000 seals could have drowned in nets between the years of 1989 and 1998. Conflict between fishers whether they be commercial or recreational have been noted as it is believed seals interfere with fishing gear and can compete with fishers for fish. This conflict is likely to increase in the years to come.

As these animals spend a lot of their time at sea to gather food it has been noted that these animals will spend a decent amount of time resting on land to recover their energy. At times people may confuse normal seal behaviour for them needing rescue which can separate the animal from the colony. Regurgitation, sneezing, and coughing are all normal behaviours from these seals on land and it is not unusual to see a skinny seal if they are a juvenile still learning to fend for themselves. There are cases where some of these seals may become disoriented when they reach land, when disoriented that may wander further inland onto roads or into town. Only in instances where these animals are severely injured, entangled in marine/fishing debris, harrassed by dogs/people, have wandered onto the roads/towns/cities should the relevant authorities be contacted.

Further Reading (general information):
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctocep…
Kidadl: kidadl.com/animal-facts/fur-se…
Animalia: animalia.bio/new-zealand-fur-s…

Description
Species Name: Long-nosed Fur Seal
Species Latin Name: Arctocephalus forsteri
Also Known As: Australasian Fur Seal, South Australian Fur Seal, New Zealand Fur Seal, Antipodean Fur Seal, Kekeno (Maori)
Native To: Southern Australia and New Zealand
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Photo Taken At: Melbourne Zoo

Size (length): 1.2-2.5m (3.9 – 8.2 feet)
Weight: 30-180kg (66.1 – 396.8 pounds)
Top Speed: 20kmh (12.4mph)
Lifespan: 12-15 years
Population Size: 200,000
Population Trend: Increasing

Diet: Carnivore, Piscivores, Molluscivore
Lifestyle: Semiaquatic, precocial, predator, island endemic, natatorial, nomadic, terrestial, territorial, congregatory, viviparous
Group Name: Pod, bob, harem, herd, rookery, colony
Female Name: Cow
Male Name: Bull
Baby Name: Pup
Mating Behaviour: Polygyny
Reproductive Season: October – February
Pregnancy Duration: 9 months
Births Per Pregnancy: 1 pup
Independent Age: 9-10 months
Age of Sexual Maturity: 4-5 years

Description:
Like many seal species these animals can be identified by their long bulky bodies supported only by their front and hind flippers, their bodies have evolved for long, speedy swims in the water rather than traversing on land. Long-nosed Fur Seals have pointed noses and long pale whiskers on their face. Their bodies are covered in two layers of fur to keep their bodies warm, the coat is grey-brown along their backs and lighter coloured on their bellies. These seals can be distinguished by other seals by their external ears and their hind flippers that rotate forward. Some of these animals can have along the upper hairs of their body which can give some of them a more silver like appearance. Generally the males will be much larger with the average weight of a male reaching 126kg (277.8 pounds) compared to the average female weight of 30 – 50kg (66.1 – 110.2 pounds)

Diet:
Long-nosed Fur Seals will mainly eat octopus, squid, lantern fish, anchovies, pink cod, hoki, barracuda, flounder, hagfish, lamprey, red cod, school shark, and many other species of fish. It has even been noted that these species will eat various bird species as part of their diet including local species of penguin. The diet for these seals will vary depending on multiple factors including season, sex, breeding, the surrounding colony, oceanography, and climate patterns.

Behaviour:
Communication between Long-nosed Fur Seals will vary depending on the sex of the animal as well as the situation they are in. Males will vocalize through either a bark or whimper, these can vary from being a guttural threat, a more low-intensity threat, a full on threat of action, or more of a submissive call. The female call can growl depending on the situation, they also have a high pitched wail call that travels long distance to attract their pups to them. Both the mother and the pups will call for each other when the mother has returned from a foraging trip, once together the mother will sniff the pup to confirm that the pup is indeed hers. Males will also prominently display their neck out as a means to pronounce their authority as the dominant male, any competing male will gaze upon the display and asses their chances of success before either challenging the dominant male or slinking away.

These seals spend much of their time on the rocky shores between their dives in the sea for food. Outside of breeding season the males will often practice comfort behaviours such as grooming, scratching, and rubbing for a lot of their time. During cold days these animals will rest on the shore as they tuck their flippers underneath their bodies, they will also slightly curl up in an effort to keep warm. During hotter days they will do the opposite as they extend their bodies and flippers to maximize heat loss, they generally become less physically active mid-summer as they seek shelter from the heat in areas of shade, pools of water, or in the sea.

Every year these animals will tend to return to their same preferred breeding sites to mate. These animals will have a polygynous breeding system where a dominant male will defend a territory for his own, a dominant male will have a harem of females between 5 to 8 females. These seals will find a suitable breeding location which is usually a small island, 2 weeks before mating season males will fiercely compete for prime mating territory before the pregnant females arrive. Breeding season starts in late October and will wrap up in early February, the females will generally mate once a year giving birth to a single pup 9 months after pregnancy. The pups are able to start suckling within the hour of birth and will wean from the mother from 9 to 10 months old. They will reach sexual maturity at around 4-5 years of age however, males will not exhibit territorial behaviour until the age of 8 or10 years. Males will generally not compete with other males unless they feel there is a chance of success after they have grown to be the same size as the other dominant older males.

Threats:
This species of seal have been known to be preyed upon by other species of seal including male New Zealand Sea lions or Hooker's Sea Lion (Phocarctos hooker) and possibly Leopard Seals or Sea Leopard (Hydrurga leptonyx). The New Zealand Sea Lions have also been known to target the pups of the Long-nosed Fur Seal. Other natural predators of this species are killer whales and various species of shark.

One of the main threats these seals faced have been at the face of hunting from humans. Before European Settlers settled in Australia and New Zealand the Maori in New Zealand hunted these animals which reduced their range. It was not until the introduction of commercial fishing in the 18th to 19th century that these animals were hunted to near extinction levels. Since then the seals have become a protected species and their numbers are increasing however, there are still many issues these animals face today.

Today the most common cause of death at the hands of humans these animals face are from entanglement and drowning most commonly from green trawl nets and plastic strapping tape. Less than half of the individuals caught within these traps are released successfully from these traps with a good likelihood of survival, it is estimated that 10,000 seals could have drowned in nets between the years of 1989 and 1998. Conflict between fishers whether they be commercial or recreational have been noted as it is believed seals interfere with fishing gear and can compete with fishers for fish. This conflict is likely to increase in the years to come.

As these animals spend a lot of their time at sea to gather food it has been noted that these animals will spend a decent amount of time resting on land to recover their energy. At times people may confuse normal seal behaviour for them needing rescue which can separate the animal from the colony. Regurgitation, sneezing, and coughing are all normal behaviours from these seals on land and it is not unusual to see a skinny seal if they are a juvenile still learning to fend for themselves. There are cases where some of these seals may become disoriented when they reach land, when disoriented that may wander further inland onto roads or into town. Only in instances where these animals are severely injured, entangled in marine/fishing debris, harrassed by dogs/people, have wandered onto the roads/towns/cities should the relevant authorities be contacted.

Further Reading (general information):
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctocep…
Kidadl: kidadl.com/animal-facts/fur-se…
Animalia: animalia.bio/new-zealand-fur-s…